Chapter Five

"How soon will she wake up, Rudy?" Steve asked, standing in the hall outside of Jaime's hospital room.

"At least five or six hours, and probably not until morning. She's not sedated, but after all she's been through, her body needs time to sleep it off. After that, she'll be fine." Rudy smiled at Steve. "It would've been a lot worse if you hadn't been the one to find her. We heard all of it over the wire - incredible work."

"Thanks, Rudy, but it wasn't work; just instinct, and love."

"How's your head? Any pain?"

"Nah - I'll be fine."

"In other words," Rudy surmised, "you could use an aspirin."

"How 'bout two?"

"I'll get 'em for you."

The doctor returned minutes later, handed Steve the pills and a cup of water and then motioned him to a chair. "Let's have a look."

"I'm fine."

"You got your degree - where, Doctor Austin?"

"Ok, alright, I'm sitting."

Rudy gave him a quick but thorough once-over. "You're fine," he confirmed.

"Rudy, will Jaime remember...what happened today?"

"Not if she's lucky. It's impossible to say, though; she definitely could."

"You know," Steve reflected, "when she looked up at me and said who are you..."

"Brought back some pretty bad memories for you, I'll bet."

"Yeah," Steve answered, frowning. "And so did finding out Fortress was behind this."

"It all went down about as well as it possibly could for us, though," Rudy said. "You found Jaime in time to save her, and she was still able to point out the source of the signal, and -"

"And those two cretins were actually up there, still cranking on their little sonar system, wondering why Jaime and I didn't die."

"Yep."

"Rudy, why didn't we die? They'd obviously tapped into the right frequency, somehow."

"I don't know for sure. Jaime had a really close call; probably would've lost her in a matter of a few more minutes. But the signal Fortress was sending was so strong...you both should've been dead. They'd have gotten their revenge for the loss of Lyle Stenning and made a fortune on the black market to boot. So I guess the only answer I have isn't very scientific or medical."

"What is it?" Steve asked, already able to guess.

"You and Jaime have an incredible bond; don't have to tell you that, I suppose."

"I've always thought we were like one soul in two bodies," Steve agreed.

Rudy nodded. "I believe it was that bond that kept you alive. You stayed on your feet and strong because you needed to help Jaime."

"But she didn't even know who she was, so how -?"

"Her subconscious, somewhere deep inside of her, still knew, still kept that connection. In a strictly meta-physical, non-scientific sense, that bond that you share - the strength of your love - kept her going as well."

Steve smiled warmly at the thought. "Is it ok if I sit with her?"

"Of course."

Oscar, who had quietly been standing behind Rudy for most of the conversation, smiled, too, at seeing Steve and Jaime together. "Was that your official diagnosis, Doctor Wells?"

"Absolutely. But if you quote me to the AMA, I'll deny every word."

"They do look 'right' together," Oscar noted.

"Yep." Rudy grinned. "Is that your official word, Mister Goldman?"

"Sure is, but not for the reports."

------

"Thanks again for letting me stay with you," Jaime said as she happily danced up the sidewalk. "Feels so good to be out of the hospital."

"Thanks definitely aren't necessary; I love having you here," Steve told her.

"Oh - you got a new front door! Looks nice, but what was wrong with the other one?"

"It was looking kinda scruffy."

"Why do I think you're not telling me something?"

Instead of answering, Steve pulled Jaime into his arms, easing her close to him.

"Austin, if you think you can get me to shut up just by kissing me...you are absolutely right."

And so he did.

END